Are you wondering what is the best dessert to serve at your wedding? With so many different options for brides-to-be out there like a traditional cake, cake pops, different dessert bars, cookies, and cupcakes, it can be hard to settle on just one dessert that your guests will love. Well, you’re in luck! In today’s post, we will be going through the pros and cons of each dessert you could incorporate into your wedding.

Cake

Let’s start with your traditional cake. However, there are many options to discuss just with cake alone. Do you want two tiers, one tier, or three tiers? What should the cake topper be? Should I have fondue, or frosting, or a naked cake? Fortunately, we are just going to be talking today about cake in general and the benefits of offering your guests cake, but we do have more in-depth articles here about specific cake requirements.

Pros

• The all-important cake cutting ceremony. This is a tradition that dates back to the very beginning of weddings, and guests love to see you interact for the first time as a married couple by stuffing cake in one another’s faces.
• The cake is what people often expect to have at a wedding.
•  It’s traditionally the cheapest option.

Cons

• There are many cake flavors to choose from, and you might choose a flavor that doesn’t resonate well with your guests. Always remember to choose a more traditional flavor that will appease many guests. For example, vanilla, almond, marble, or pistachio. Flavors like peanut butter, deep chocolate, and red velvet are to be avoided.
• People might want more dessert.   Guests could be annoyed that they only get one piece of cake. A good solution for this is to have a cookie bar off to the side that family members and friends could help contribute to before the wedding day. This can be a cheap way to have more desserts but not break your bank.
• If you’re the bride, you might get cake smashed in your face. Be sure to talk to your husband about how “gently” he decides to put that cake in your mouth. People love a great cake smash, but it shouldn’t be at the expense of the bride’s makeup or dress getting stained.

Cupcakes

 

These little treats have become all the rage in just a few short years. Why do people love this tiny delectable treats? 

Pros

• People like the idea of having more than one of something.
• Being able to have multiple flavors. Can’t decide between two delicious cupcake flavors? No problem, just have them both. Guests love the idea of sampling multiple cupcake flavors. It is also a great opportunity to include a flavor you might love another person wouldn’t be wild about having for their only dessert( like red velvet).
• It can go with the theme. Cupcakes are so complex and decorated now that they can add a lot to elements of your reception. For example, if you have a beach themed wedding you can get cupcakes that look like tiny islands or waves of the ocean. If you have a 1950’s themed wedding, you can get black and gold cupcakes that have tinsel, or sparkle metallicly.  The limit is endless as long as you connect with a creative and willing bakery.
• You can still smash them. Unlike the other options we are going to discuss, cupcakes can still substitute well for a wedding cake. You can still smash cupcakes into each other faces. You can also put toppers on the cupcakes and have a cupcake tower to take the place of a cake tower.

Cons

• They tend to be very expensive. If you are having a bigger wedding, it can be quite the expense to account for everyone at the reception eating multiple cupcakes.And it is always better to have food left over rather than to have people wondering why there are no more cupcakes.
• They can be harder to transport to the venue.
• People might want the traditional cake cutting ceremony. People might prefer cake over cupcakes and want to see the couple cutting the cake together for the first time. It is important to remember with any of these dessert options that you can’t please everyone.

Doughnuts

 

A trend that has started circulating through the bridal realm has been using doughnuts or having a doughnut bar at a wedding instead of cake and cupcakes.

Pros   

• People love doughnuts. Seriously, have you ever met someone who hates any and all doughnuts? There is a good chance that people will love this different approach and load up.
• The potential to have a toppings bar. Select plain doughnuts and buy fun toppings that people can use to decorate their doughnuts.  Toppings can be cheaper, and people will love the DIY feel.
• People can have more than one. With a cake, you are more limited to one piece per person, but doughnuts have the potential for people to help themselves all night.
• People can feel like they have more options to move around throughout the evening. People can dance and eat, take a break from dancing and eat, and not have to stop the reception to have the traditional cake cutting or cupcake stuffing event.

Cons              

• It could be messy. With toppings everywhere and people using only one line to get their doughnuts, the reception can get crowded and could have potential to have people run into each other with a doughnut full of toppings. Eliminate this problem by having multiple doughnut tables and very clear exit and entrance points to the dessert bar.
• People would like the traditional cake cutting. See above cons.
• It’s pricier.

Dessert Bars

There is a huge push nowadays for receptions to have unique and fun dessert bars instead of traditional cake. Some ideas for popular dessert bars could be smores, yogurt parfaits, popsicles or cake pops, mini pies, fruit, and cookies and milk.

Pros    

• They are super memorable. There are sure to be plenty of people tagging your wedding hashtag on their Instagram accounts as they pose with their friends while eating these sweet treats. People will be sure to mention them to other people when they are asked about your wedding. Being the trendsetter can be fun!
• People can sample multiple things, multiple flavors, or have more than one dessert.
• People have more freedom to move around.
• It can complement the theme. You can easily have a dessert bar focused around or decorated with the theme. For example, say you are having a rustic focused wedding, an s’mores bar can be the perfect way to tie the theme from the wedding seamlessly into the reception.

Cons    

• People might enjoy taking a break from the reception to have the traditional cake cutting ceremony.
• It can be more expensive.
• It can be more time-consuming. You might need to ask people to help you make all these treats or decorate them ahead of the reception time. It could be hard to get enough people to help if you are having a bigger wedding.

We hope that you have enjoyed at least looking at these sweet treats! We know that whatever you choose will be sure to be a success with your family and friends on your big day. Feel free to share your dessert thoughts or successes on our Facebook page here or in the comments below!